Tag: Film

Time for a Change

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Yesterday, before I prepared for work, I heard about the news. Another “no indictment” for a black man killed by a white officer. What was different this time? The anger that rose in me. With Trayvon Martin, I was truly hurt. Hurt that a young man could be harassed and followed and killed by a man and the jury blame him and let his killer go free. With Mike Brown, I was confused as to how someone could not even go to trial and possibly be charged with the killing of an unarmed teenager. With countless others, I had these same sentiments. But this time, I was truly pissed. I could feel the hatred boiling over. Hatred for this country and it’s system. Hatred for those who supported these actions. Hatred for those who felt like they understood, but they really could never fully understand. Hatred for the blatant slap in the face that came with this no indictment. It was like a big “fuck you because we can” that came from America. I later, prayed and channeled that energy. I thought to myself about how I could effectively make a change. After the Mike Brown incident and seeing the countless efforts of the media trying to portray him into something that he was not, I came up with a plan. A plan that I could effectively commit to and something that would help our generations to come. It is in no way the only answer, but it is an effort in helping to change the entire problem. We all have a platform that we are suppose to use and it is up to us to figure out what that is and how to help others.

My love for writing and this media industry has became a little bit of a love/hate relationship. I have struggled with supporting this industry that has no interest in my people. I won’t go into too much details, but in a nutshell, there are little to no Black films out here that are actually good. This not due to lack of talent but it is lack of support from Hollywood. Chris Rock wrote an essay that further describes what I am discussing, please take the time to read: http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-five-filmmaker-chris-rock-753223?utm_source=twitter

In this essay, Rock talks about how Blacks are not given the same opportunities as Whites when it comes to media and Hollywood. Seriously, where are the black agents and managers that actually have a say in Hollywood? Because of this one-sidedness, you see less of our culture in the media. This is an issue. The lack of proper representation of Blacks in the media is truly sad. I keep saying to myself how I remember growing up and seeing so many positive Blacks in the media. Watching Whoopi Goldberg in “The Color Purple” was the reason I became a writer. When I discovered black poets and writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, I was in awe. I was instantly inspired because I knew that it was an obtainable goal. To become a successful Black writer. Now, think about it. What, in the media, do our children have to look up to? What images do they see day in and day out that will inspire them? Our representation has gone more and more downhill and I feel like it is time for everyone to take a stand. You have the protestors who are taking a stand against injustice in the streets. I feel like this is my stand. My purpose. To bring more positive and inspiring images of our people to the media. When I look at Black women journalists, I become more inspired, but do you know how hard it is to actually find them? I cannot just turn on the TV and have an abundant amount of options. Thankfully, Twitter has been my resource for finding these women in my field that are inspiring me to continue with my goals.

Like I stated before, we all have a purpose on this Earth. It is our duty to leave this world knowing that we helped make it better for the next generation. My gift is in writing, therefore my purpose has to be attached to that. As a writer, I have the power and platform to inform the masses and that is exactly what I am going to do. I want our children to turn on the tv and see a representation of themselves that is real. Not what “society” deems us as being. We need more of our people in the media to continue to inspire and let people see that there is more to life than what you think. It is okay to have goals and aspirations because they are obtainable. You don’t have to claw your way to the top or make a sex tape or be the next reality star to actually be successful. Shows like “Blackish” should not be the only positive show that we have out there right now. We should have an array of options from children shows to adult shows that represent us correctly. This is my new goal. I mean, I do have a production company for a reason. 🙂 I challenge any and every person of color, that is in the media field, to think about this plan. It’s time to make Black Hollywood what it truly needs to be. Not what they think it should be, but what we know to be true. Representation matters.

Photo courtesy: http://www.pinterest.com

Temptation

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Okay, let me first start by saying if you have not watched the Tyler Perry movie, “Temptation,” and you plan on seeing it, do not read this post. Now, for those who have seen it or don’t care, I had to write this after watching that movie. I was trying to wait since my site has been down and I have been rewriting my old posts, but I have to get this off my chest. This movie was not good in my opinion. The acting was fine, the storyline ehh, the ending abysmal. Let’s begin with the storyline. I can’t remember the characters names so we will use their real names. Jurnee and Lance have known each other since they were six years old and were crazy in love. They got married at 18 and had been together 7 years. Lance worked at a pharmacy and Jurnee worked at a matchmaker company. She meets Harvey(characters name) and they work on coming up with some dating program for his website. She starts to fall for him because he basically is showing her all the sexual attention that she does not get from Lance, who by the way is FINE!!!! Sorry. So she ends up having an affair with him while away on a business trip and when she comes back her Reverend mother can tell she’s different. Then she decides to stay with Harvey, uses drugs, he ends up beating her, Lance finds out from Brandy(who is running away from her crazy ex who happens to be Harvey) that Harvey has HIV, Lance rescues Jurnee, Lance kicks Harvey’s ass, Jurnee ends up with HIV and alone, and Lance has a new wife and son. *sighs* Hope you caught all that.

Now, my first problem with the movie is the fact that Tyler had to make Lance’s character extremely weak and boring. There is a part where Lance and Jurnee are walking to their car and a group of guys are checking her out and the guy calls her a bitch. Jurnee stands up for herself but Lance forces her in the car and doesn’t defend her, which she later expresses to him. Now, most guys would not have just let that slide and women do like to feel protected by their mate. But then Lance forgets her birthday. How over the top! I would have loved for Lance to just have been a regular guy who did the things that he normally does and not forgot birthday’s or didn’t defend her. You do not have to be an asshole for someone to fall out of love with you. Sometimes it just happens.

My second problem with the movie is the temptation part. Yes, I can admit that if you are in a boring marriage and a man comes around and is talking about the different ways he wants to make love to you, it can be quite tempting. But at what time did this man tempt her enough to where she decides to leave her husband and do drugs? I mean she just snorted the stuff like it was nothing! She did it with such ease that I actually thought I was tripping until she did it the second time. So not only is she feeling taken for granted in her marriage and having an affair, she is also a drug addict.

My third problem is the whole church aspect. I cannot stand when Tyler involves the church as the only way to solve a problem. If your shirt’s on fire, call on the Lord. If your leg is chopped off, call on the Lord. If a zombie bit you, call on the Lord. Like, really? Now, don’t get me wrong. I am a firm believer in God, but I also do not believe that just because Jurnee was not going to church every Sunday and calling her Reverend mom every morning for prayer makes her a bad person or made her have this affair. It had nothing to do with that. She had the affair because she was not happy in her relationship and was not used to anything new. This had nothing to do with God. There was no need for all the church extra and the woman praying in her house like the devil was in her daughter. Yes, she was going through something, but did anyone ever take the time to just talk to her? Maybe that would have solved a lot of things.

My last problem was the ending. I literally walked out on the end because I was so irritated. The movie ends with a much older Jurnee walking into the pharmacy that Lance owns and getting her medicine. Brandy hugs her(why was Brandy looking the exact same age and everyone else was looking old?) and she gets the medicine and Lance asks her if she has plans. She says I’m going to church. Then Lance’s new wife and son walk in, they wave at Jurnee like a stranger and that was that. WTF?? Why does her life have to be so bland because of her one mistake? I don’t care about them breaking up because she did cheat on him, but can’t she also have a fulfilling life? Is she doom to a life of looking like an old grandmother and being alone all because she didn’t stay “prayed up” and had an affair? This is not real life! Also at the end, Jurnee is talking to a client who is thinking about having an affair and after hearing her story the lady says she will end the affair and stay with her husband. Smh. That is not the answer. Yes, end the affair before it happens, but don’t decide to stay with your husband because you heard about the scary HIV story. You are still going to be miserable in the end.

Basically what I got out of this movie is who cares if you are miserable in your relationship. You stay in that relationship and stay in the church and if you don’t you will become a drug addict with HIV. I may be a little dramatic but that’s what happened in a nut shell. Tyler could’ve really did something with this movie to help people out. So many people are in relationships and they feel stuck. They love that person but it’s all they know. They don’t know what to do with those feelings that come about when someone else shows them something new and they fall for it. Instead of talking it out, they have an affair. You can’t scare people into not doing something. There should have been some communication that took place, some type of counseling. Hell, it’s called Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, but why didn’t she counsel herself? This movie just basically set us back relationship wise. Instead of opening up about those feelings, just bury them and stay miserable. Stay in a relationship that has you feeling like you are living with your roommate. Stay in a relationship where you are rolling your eyes every time they open their mouth. Stay in a relationship that is passionless. Yes, just stay in that relationship and stay in church because that’s the only way anything is going to get solved. Remember the Bible says, “Faith without works is dead.” So you can stay in the church all you want but if you don’t actively work towards something, it is pointless. And let me just say Kim Kardashian did an amazing job. She actually had me laughing in the movie. Kudos to her acting coach.